Same here but I understand where Marvel have to keep some people happy that are concerned with the ongoing story. Ideally they can do B without compromising A.

This is the ideal balance, I think. You want people to be satisfied with the individual stories in the moment, but you also want to hook them in with the larger ideas that provide a longer-term overarching structure to a book (or, in this case, to the larger shared universe).

I don’t read enough current Marvel to be able to judge whether they’re doing either successfully (although I can guess what the general reaction on this board would be!), but it’s a good goal to aim for.

If you were really new to it all, is an issue being numbered #703, without any more signposting than that, really going to be that welcoming?

Once upon a time, that was all we had. Luckily, there was a philosophy that “Every issue #703 is somebody’s first”, so we were able to follow what was happening.

The problem now I think is that even when they renumber a series to launch a new issue #1, they still don’t write it as if it’s someone’s first. So the actual number on the cover is the least of their problems.

In a way, #703 is more honest. At least the casual punter knows they’re going to get something with a lot of history. A new #1 is just a con job.

CBR has the exclusive first look at Marvel Comics' Marvel Legacy one-shot from the creative team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribic.

Edit: I should add that I think Esad Ribic is a special talent in this generation that should be mentioned in the same breath as other top creators. He has a European/BD look to his work that I really enjoy. I would love to see him do something with @Mark_Millar someday.

The problem now I think is that even when they renumber a series to launch a new issue #1, they still don’t write it as if it’s someone’s first. So the actual number on the cover is the least of their problems.

No they don’t. I listen to the iFanboy reviews podcast and they praised Spider-Woman. So as I have a Marvel Unlimited sub I thought I’d give it a try. Started with #1 naturally, no idea what was going on. Did some Googling and found the real story started with #7 (or something like that, I can’t remember) of the previous series, with the same creative team setting up a new status quo.

When I had Unlimited, I tried one of the various Ghost Rider series, starting from #1. Made no sense and felt like the middle of a story. Turned out it all started in an #0, which owing to Marvel Unlimited’s naff interface, wasn’t listed with the rest of the series.

It’s basically one long conversation between Nazi Steve and Cube Steve. Nothing too significant happens. Nazi Steve remains locked up while Cube Steve goes out into the world as Cap. Though the end suggests that at some point Nazi Steve might be back since at least one of the guards in the prison he’s being held in is Hydra.

I actually tried canceling my Marvel Unlimited subscription yesterday. It turns out they don’t offer partial refunds. As I just renewed in July and it is only September, I’ll wait until next summer to cancel. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but having an auto-renew function without offering partial refunds for cancellation is pretty lame on their part. I get that they don’t want people constantly subscribing and canceling after a day just to read a ton of books for essentially free. But stiffing customers who just forgot to cancel before renewal, when you don’t even send a warning email that their credit card is about to be dinged for renewal fees, is a corny solution.

Anyway, as I said it’s not the biggest deal in the world. It’s probably a bigger deal that I spend about $8 a month to read their entire line and I don’t feel like it’s worth the money.

t’s not the biggest deal in the world but having an auto-renew function without offering partial refunds for cancellation is pretty lame on their part.

I got a renewal mail

[quote]
Thank you for being a Marvel Unlimited member!

Your Annual membership plan renewal is scheduled to renew on 8/25/2017 . Beginning on that date, and during each Annual renewal thereafter, you will be charged the then-current Annual membership rate…[/quote]